Akiyama District
The Akiyama District (秋山, Akiyama, "autumn mountain") is the 21st District in West Rukongai. Although situated in a mountainous region, Akiyama is primarily an agrarian district. As such, the vast majority of the landscape consists of farmlands interspersed within the untamed forests that surround the central town, also named Akiyama. The district is renowned for its noodles, particularly during its autumn festivals, which are equally as famous. Overview Akiyama is unique among the districts due to its largely autonomous nature. Originally, the would station in the district in order to oversee and regulate the production of food crops that were directly imported to the . Over time, this system of regulation developed into a stable, self-contained economy that was governed by hereditary families descended from the Shinigami, such as the Miura and the Sakuma. While the Sakuma cooperated with the town council in order to govern the region under the sanctions of the Seireitei, they were eventually superseded by the Miura, who asserted themselves as the district administrators even after the Gotei 13 withdrew formal oversight from the area. As such, Akiyama became largely independent from the Seireitei, with the Miura serving as the governing body of the district. The effects of a formal system of government is clearly seen, especially in comparison to the lawless state of many of the other Rukongai districts. The order of the district has historically ensured that, while Akiyama itself does not produce an over-abundance of crops, the town serves as a transport center for agricultural goods that are imported from surrounding districts to trade. As such, the town of Akiyama is both the hub for the district's agricultural economy and a route of transport into and out of the mountains of the West Rukongai. In the past, the town of Akiyama consisted of little more than a few houses and inns that had been built along the main river that cut through the center of a flat plain. It has since grown to be a large, populous area, with the town now filling nearly half of the level basin that lies nestled among the mountains. The main crops produced in the district are buckwheat, hemp, and oats, which are all hardy enough to withstand the harsh winters. While the crops are not necessary for the survival of most of the in the district (since they do not possess spiritual power), agricultural production gives the Rukon inhabitants a purpose in their afterlife and forms the basis of a normal society. Hagakure-ryū Dōjō (Under construction.) The Hagakure-ryū (葉隠流, House of Hidden Leaves) is a school that is located in Akiyama District. It was founded by Hidetsugu Endō. Takashi Sakuma learned here. There are eight forms to Hagakure-ryū, which are as follows: :1. Art of Restraint, Kensei no Kage: (牽制の影, "withheld shadow") Reiryoku is focused in the cutting edge of the blade, so refined and so controlled it has been known to cut through thick steel and even Zanpakutō. Practically, this is the technique of infusing and sharpening one's own Reiatsu, a principle interwoven with the other forms of Hagakure-ryū. The form in its essence means that every strike delivered, if allowed to contact the target unhindered, would cut completely through the body of an opponent. Thus making every strike a lethal one. ::Known Techniques: :*'Iaido'- Technique of imbueing a sheathed blade with energy, building up the pressure until they reach a hair-line "release" point, at which point the must draw the sword. :2. Art of Breathing, matches the breathing of the opponent exactly in order to anticipate the movements of an opponent, working as an almost precognative form of defense. :3. Art of Stance, Kagefudō: (影不動, "immoveable shadow"), but with a different meaning than what is associated with Hakuda. Near-suicidal in application. :4. Art of Chiburui, ("cast-off shadow") this is the one "distanced" technique of the Hagakure-ryū. :5. Art of the Hold/Redirection, this encompasses various techniques all pertaining to the way one holds their sword. Switching hands, adjusting the length of the sword's reach, feints, and twists of the blade are all part of this form. The objective is not to decieve but rather to push past the defenses of an opponent in order to reach the target as quickly as possible. The most notable technique involves a switch of hands in mid-strike: the practitioner holds their sword in their non-dominant hand, but places the other on top for stability. They then slash at their opponent, but instead redirect the path of the blade in a feint, actually dropping the sword. They then catch the hilt in their dominant hand to create a genuine slash while the opponent is caught unaware, attemtping evade the first feint attack. Remember that hagakure is about prescision, about directing one's own reiatsu in fine control. There is a feint technique where, through reiryoku, the user creates what appears to be an actual blade in thin air, when it is an illusion caused by the presicion of swinging the sword, similar to sanbankage. :6. Unknown :7. Art of Nisekokuei: (偽黒影, "false black shadow") :8. Art of Ha, Muyō: (無影, lit. “shadowless”) Muyō is the ultimate technique of Hagakure, and it is also its most basic, as it is the foundation for all other forms. According to the school’s founder “the wielder must become an emotionless vessel to the spirit of their blade, they must become the blade.” Also known as the “Art of Becoming,” this is the school's ultimate form, and has become known as the "strikeless kill." After cutting an opponent the user enters a meditative state where they become completely imperceptible to the senses of their adversary. While they cannot move in this state, they can also not be harmed as they have essentially cut themselves from physical existence. In this state of non-being, they synchronize almost perfectly with the mind and heart of the opponent, able to read the reflection of their intentions and desires as if watching ripples across the surface of a pond. However, if the adversary recognizes what has occurred, he too can enter this meditative state to find the user, which is much more easily facilitated as he simply has to follow the thread that bound the original wound to the blade. If this occurs both will find themselves in an empty realm completely blank and devoid of any feature besides the other individual, at which point the true battle will begin. There is only one strike, and unless the opponent is somehow able to dodge or deflect the attack, they will be cut, as Muyō takes advantage of the state that is “non-being,” ignoring all physical attempts to stop the blade in order to cut through the core. The Art of Ha essentially allows the user to sever the ties of the soul. Following the principle of the “true sword,” it is both the ability to take life and to keep life. While the “strikeless kill” implies severing the soul from the body, the user is also capable of cutting the bond between a Shinigami and their Zanpakutō, for example, as well as cutting away emotions or thoughts. It is entirely up to the user as to whether they leave the opponent spiritually and mentally intact or ruined. Additional Form: :Sanbankage: (三番影 “third shadow”) Whatever cut or injury he inflicts on an enemy will triple in effect the instant of impact. Meaning, even if he only makes one cut, the opponent will have been cut three times in total. (The two supplementary cuts or wounds being parallel and congruent to the original.) By concentrating Reiatsu in the cutting edge of the blade, it becomes sharp enough to cut through the very Reishi in the air. This Reishi continues to follow the path of the blade (following the laws of cohesion or attraction) creating two secondary or shadowing “blades” that land a split second after the initial strike. This form was seemingly invented by Takashi Sakuma, and has so far only been demonstrated by him. Locations Notable Residents *Hidetsugu Endō *Takashi Sakuma (formerly) *Rue *Saburō Trivia *The governing system of Akiyama was based on the under the . *Most of the images used for Akiyama are from the anime . Category:Rukongai Category:Location